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anxiously-sidequesting · 5 months

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My Personal Shadow Magic Headcanons - "Shadow Sickness"

I'm so autistic and lazy so here's another weirdly-worded headcanons post from me at 4 AM (lmk if I need to tag this as anything specific btw

What I'm personally calling "Shadow Sickness" is the official, prolonged version of Backlash - adverse effects that target the practitioner even outside of the duel circle and in their everyday lives. While "Backlash" refers to the immediate and spontaneous barrage of attacks that takes place after a Shadow spell, "Shadow Sickness" is the gradual deterioration of the practitioner's mind, body, and soul. True to the name, this effect likens more to an illness, a virus; something that's alive and slowly takes over until there is nothing healthy left behind. The symptoms are emotional, physical, mental, and even spiritual.

While regular Magic has life force within it, Shadow Magic is the only type of magic that can be considered "sentient". Not a thinking being with goals and plans, but something living and breathing with the most basic instincts. It's what's considered "Chaotic" and dangerous about it - the Wizard bends and controls regular Magic, but Shadow Magic can bend and control the Wizard. It is the only type of magic that can "fight back" in its own way.

This sentience is what allows for Shadow Sickness and Backlash to happen - these are purely just the results of it "fighting back". The Shadow Magic is reacting to the practitioner. It's acting by its nature by rearing its head back and snapping the hand that controls it. If the practitioner is NOT sound and secure in their mental, physical, and spiritual health, then Backlash and Shadow Sickness can cause even more adverse effects within the Wizard and as a result can suffer more severely.

Symptoms of Shadow Sickness

Symptoms of Shadow Sickness can vary between physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. The "virus" affects every single aspect of the being, down to their very life. The severity of these symptoms can also vary depending on certain variables. Unlike a true virus, Shadow Sickness has no "incubation period" and can flare up at any time during which the Wizard is practicing Shadow Magic. These symptoms include:

Physical scarring (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual) - one of the only symptoms that comprise of all four categories. Scars may appear on the Wizard's body that take various shapes and forms: most commonly taken after that individual's unsolved trauma. This includes old grudges, previous serious injuries that have not healed correctly, repressed memories, obsessions and delusions, etc. No two scars look the same (i.e. two different wizards who have a fear of spiders will have scars that look entirely different from the other). Depending on the severity these scars can cause physical discomfort (tingling, numbness, pain, leathery skin, decay/cellular deterioration) and can greatly impact how the Wizard looks to others to how the Wizard can move around.

Involuntary movements (physical, mental, spiritual) - the Wizard may begin suffering from accidental and spontaneous gestures and movement that is either randomized or triggered. This can include loss of coordination, disorientation, mini seizures, jerks and spasms, etc. Other than being physically affected, the Wizard is not suffering from any medical emergencies. The individual is fully conscious and aware when this happens and depending on the severity, can recover seconds after. This is one of the only symptoms where others could be harmed due to a wayward hand that comes flying out by accident. There is also a magical version of this, where involuntary spells or bursts of magic can be cast spontaneously (hence the 'spiritual' aspects of this symptom as mana comes from the soul). Usually these magical bursts are Shadow Magic and not the Wizard's primary or secondary Magic abilities. (Another involuntary trait recorded is the Wizard suddenly switching to an ancient "Shadow Language" in mid-speech.)

Hallucinations (physical, mental) - the Wizard may begin to experience things that cannot be detected by any other individual. Usually these hallucinations start out as smells or taste first, but there are reports of the Wizard hearing, sensing, and even seeing things to start out with. Contrary to popular belief not all hallucinations are violent or even turn out to be that way, some reports even describe them as pleasant. Hallucinations vary from each Wizard even with those who share the same traumas or fears. Depending on the severity of the symptoms, the Wizard can either be fully aware or completely immersed within them. Since these are only hallucinations they cannot harm the Wizard but can cause further deterioration to the mind.

Depleted energy/"Mana Loss" (physical, spiritual) - as the Shadow Sickness takes hold, eventually the Wizard will be slowly sapped of strength and magical energy. THIS IS DIFFERENT FROM IF THE WIZARD IS SKILLED IN SHADOW MAGIC. A Wizard can practice Shadow Magic and still NOT be affected by this. Since Shadow Magic "takes", Shadow Sickness does the same and gradually depletes the Wizard's energy. Like how Backlash takes health in a duel, Shadow Sickness takes your life. This is the only symptom that is constant in all cases of Shadow Sickness. Not only will the ability to cast spells be taken away, but overall physical health will suffer as well and the individual is more susceptible to regular diseases due to a compromised immune system. This symptom only appears in the very last stages of Shadow Sickness and is the last symptom of the individual experiences in their lifetime.

Tulpas (emotional, mental, spiritual) - contrasting hallucinations, Tulpas are the Wizard's visions made real. A Tulpa (from Shadow Sickness) is a physical and magical manifestation of the Wizard suffering from the Shadow "virus". Although it is born from the subconscious of another being, it is a separate entity all its own and has the ability to make decisions and have feelings and desires. However, these feelings and desires are not really of their own and reflect the Wizard's subconscious fears and threat responses. (i.e. our Azteca Tulpa in Khrysalis that formed due to unresolved survivor's guilt. Its "goal" was to destroy us and fully consume us within itself, similar to how guilt behaves in reality). Tulpas can either be created from visions, nightmares, intense and obsessive thoughts, or even previous hallucinations.

Can Shadow Sickness be reversed, or cured?

Shadow Sickness can be reversed, yes, or more commonly halted. Unless the Wizard is fully submersed in their mental and spiritual anguish ((Malistaire even though he wasn't using shadow magic; Morganthe even though that wasn't what killed her)) Shadow Sickness can be stopped. The road to recovery varies wildly from each person so there is no set "recovery time" in which you are expected to be fully healed. It is your own journey and it is ultimately your say whether or not you are better. Clinically, recovery can be sorted between these categories

HALTED: In which the Shadow Sickness is no longer infecting the individual but the symptoms may still persist. These symptoms do not get worse or better, but the Wizard's mind is clear and their soul is at peace. Wizards may either learn to live comfortably and adapt with their Halted condition or could continue to strive for partial or full recovery.

PARTIAL RECOVERY: In which the Shadow Sickness is reversed slightly or moderately. The effects are not all the way gone but are measured to be better than when the Wizard was still infected. In this state any severe symptoms the Wizard is experiencing are now moderate or slight, or less frequent. Just like in the Halted category, the Wizard is sound of mind, body, and soul.

FULL RECOVERY: In which Shadow Sickness is totally reversed and there are no more symptoms that persist. Full, 100% recovery is actually quite rare in the Spiral and a lot of scholars consider the Full Recovery to count as "70% or more reduced" - meaning the symptoms are very slight and few and far in between. Technically this is still a Partial Recovery but due to the above fact and how difficult it is to reverse Shadow Sickness, 'Full Recovery' is an umbrella term. Some individuals even claim Full Recovery even if their symptoms are moderate, because their mind and soul are no longer diseased.

ONE LAST FACT TO LEAVE OFF WITH: Not every Wizard who practices Shadow Magic suffers from Shadow Sickness, and alternatively even the most skilled Shadowmage can develop Shadow Sickness.

okay this took days. bye hope you liked this

#btw tagging some of these symptoms jic theyre triggering to some #tw seizures #tw hallucinations #lmk if i need to tag anything else #BUT YEAH THIS IS IT #i got lazy at the end but i def wanna expand on this #a few things i wanna talk about more in depth: the 'shadow language' thing and the 'mana comes from the soul' thing #BUT THIS WAS SUPER FUN TO MAKE #giving holly even MORE trauma #due to canon reasons and because i love suffering holly isnt even in the “halted” category #theyre still suffering from ongoing shadow sickness. its progressing a hell of a lot slower than others but shes def feeling it #due to ambrose's thinky veiled threat of always being watched and everyone else unintentionally-#-brushing aside holly's health the shadow sickness remains undetected #except for velma. she sees that shit #but since holly is the master of bottling things up theyre like “ahaha what virus” (throws up black blood)#holly has the scarring as the worst symptom and has a few specific scars i wanna talk about in another post #but they also suffer from hallucinations and the shadow language thing #since holly is unintentionally holding off the worst of the Sickness she doesnt have the mana depletion yet #i think i forgot like maybe one or two symptoms but im so tired ugh. this is all yall are getting for now LMAO #idk if this is even a good post. im proud of it #one symptom i forgot to mention is madness. or i think thats the end result same as depletion #its what morganthe suffered dueing the end of her life as a giant apider creature she just fully succumbed to the madness #wizard101 #w101 #wiz101 #text posts

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raspberryjellybrains · 1 year

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Hello person I never talked to in my life I saw your tags and. Please infodump about the songs for headphones rather than speakers thing if you feel like it bc I really want to know

HI!! it has been a ridiculous amount of time since you sent this, so I am very sorry. however, disclaimer that I have no expertise in music, but I do have a basic knowledge of music theory and lots of exposure (which I'm sure sounds silly, but simply means that I have a trained ear, if not mind).

I have noticed that with music produced before common availability of more sophisticated in-ear listening devices such as IPods or smart phones paired with earbuds or headphones lacks a lot of subtle, atmospheric sounds that mark more contemporary music produced within the last 10-15 years. These atmospheric sounds are things as directly understood as a result of a more isolated listening experience such as bird chirping or rustling leaves or as subtle and musical in nature as a soft chanting refrain or droning tone. Both of these, while different in purpose and nature, serve to fill out the sound of the music where background noise would, allowing artists to fully control the sound experience in a way previously unavailable.

this change can also be considered with the more widespread availability and usage of digital music making; when you have access to a sound effect, you don't have to count on it being there or figure out how to make the instruments you do have make those noises. there have been arguments made for decades (literally since the invention of the synthesizer) as to where or not this counts as part of the artistry as a new facet of the medium to be experimented with and added or diminishes the ultimate purpose and goal of music production. when new phases of technology are created and shared, there is always a boom of exploration coincident with a boom of... laziness, for lack of a better word. those who aim to use this new technology as a crutch rather than a tool. then, as the tide turns on this new technology and all the magic is gone, there's a turn back towards acoustic sound, now with elements of the previous era infused. think heavier guitar of grunge and punk versus 50's rock and how that infusion occurred AFTER synth wave in the 1980's, where those sounds overlap and converge (and, for a more interesting dive into music's role in culture, what that shift signifies).

there's also the issue of volume and dynamics. listening to heavier music with earbuds tends to be kind of unpleasant because that's not how it's designed to be played! the point is that it is loud and disruptive to OTHERS so it is necessarily sort of difficult to enjoy beamed into your ears with the magic of technology. on the opposite end of the spectrum, bedroom pop gets a bad reputation for sucking, especially to play on aux because that's not how THAT genre is meant to be played. it's quiet and has lots of subtle elements that are really easily lost in background noise that genres like death metal are engineered to cover, meaning that elements which serve to unite and fill out more key elements of the song get lost and leave it feeling hollow. there's a philosophy difference there.

which brings me to hyperpop as a perfect example of this change (its an excellent example of a lot things happening in music, even if it's a bit passe now. to editorialize more than I already am, I think it's gonna be one of those things we point to 10 years down the line and see as a huge shift but that remains to be seen). hyperpop uses this technology to blend older approaches to music with more contemporary approaches to sound production, which creates something that feels simultaneously nostalgic and completely alien; it translates really REALLY poorly to speakers because it's that adaption of heavyfastloud to a more isolated listening environment and can't be taken out.

SO TO SUMMARIZE I have no real point I just think it's really neat to look at shifts in cultural understandings and uses of technology through music and I really like thinking about and discussing it! apologies if my tags made it sound like anything other than that. if you have any questions or opinions to add feel free!! I'd love to discuss this more :3

#i grew up on late 80's and 90's alternative music and find it super interesting and so does my dad!#so i know a lot about a very specific timeframe in music supplemented by my own more modern tastes and the research that accompanies it #didnt get deep into music theory here because i didnt discuss chord composition and voicings but i didnt quite know how and where to fit #that in. but i kind of alluded to it with the bedroom pop.#the thing about music is that it contains many more layers than your ears are naturallt going to pick out because theyre used to filtering #things out. so missing one minor element makes a HUGE difference you dont notice until its there.#its like art in that way. with music youre not necessarily representing what people hear but hwat they expect to hear.#i just think music is sick asf!! its very neat!!#except time signatures. time signatures are a little bitch and we dont bring them up on pain of death.#anyway #thanks for the ask!! really sorry i left it for so long :(#music #raspberry responds

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